ISU program helps disadvantaged kids go to college

A program at Iowa State University that’s designed to help “disadvantaged” high school kids get into college has won funding for another four years. Jane Agyeman oversees the Educational Talent Search program at ISU. She says E-T-S identifies kids from low-income families, and works with them from as early as sixth grade.She says they provide services and information that hopefully will steer them into college and let them become the first in their family to graduate from college. Agyeman says they work with the state’s high schools to find the kids.Most of the schools let them go into the classroom and talk to students about the program. She says the students have to agree to get involved.She says the students are asked to meet with their advisor once or twice a month to plot their future. Iowa State has been involved in the program since 1978.She says 72-percent is the highest number of students who’ve gone on to a four year school after being identified by the program. She says if you include other postsecondary schools, the number would go up to 87-percent. The U-S Department of Education awarded I-S-U a one-point-three million dollar grant to continue running the program for the next four years.